AWW-STRUCK
2026 | Artist for AWW-STRUCK: An Exhibition of Visual Poetry Themed Around Cuteness, curated by Dr. Isabel Galleymore and Dr. Caroline Harris, hosted by Aww-Struck Network, UK
2025 | Artist for AWW-STRUCK: An Exhibition of Visual Poetry Themed Around Cuteness, curated by Astra Papachriodoulou, hosted by thepoetrykiosk.com.
2021 MAY 21 – 11 JUN | Artist for AWW-STRUCK: An Exhibition of Visual Poetry Themed Around Cuteness and seminar, curated by Astra Papachriodoulou, hosted by the University of Birmingham, University of Royal Holloway, University of London (collaborations). Get your copy of the book here: AWW-STRUCK.
2025 | Artist for AWW-STRUCK: An Exhibition of Visual Poetry Themed Around Cuteness, curated by Astra Papachriodoulou, hosted by thepoetrykiosk.com.
2021 MAY 21 – 11 JUN | Artist for AWW-STRUCK: An Exhibition of Visual Poetry Themed Around Cuteness and seminar, curated by Astra Papachriodoulou, hosted by the University of Birmingham, University of Royal Holloway, University of London (collaborations). Get your copy of the book here: AWW-STRUCK.
|
|
POEM ATLAS SEMINAR & BOOK LAUNCH
|
AWW-STRUCK IN THE WILD
|
WHAT ARE CUTE STUDIES?
|
PROCESSING CUTE STUDIES THROUGH THE ART
The following is a cute studies analysis of Vibo's pieces of art: Cutiesaurus, Poetry Egg, and Poetry Lore. First off, Maggs Vibo's ash poetry exists in the archive for Astra Papachristodoulou's site The Poetry Kiosk (formerly Poem Atlas) exhibition. It is evident that Vibo's pieces in the exhibition are based on the Kawaii theme for Aww-Struck and are part of a larger Aww-Struck Network which fits within the wider Cute Studies program. Cute studies is "an emerging academic field that critically examines cuteness (like Japan's kawaii) as a powerful cultural aesthetic, exploring its biological roots (baby-like features triggering nurturing), psychological effects (mood boosting, stress relief), and complex social implications concerning gender, race, disability, power, and capitalism, often contrasting Western "cute" with Japanese "kawaii" to reveal how these aesthetics shape identity, consumption, and human-technology interaction." The research focus (conducted by Royal Holloway, University of London and the University of Birmingham) is part of a Cute Studies Network (CSN). This group includes international leaders like Professor Joshua Paul Dale (Chuo University, Japan), who is often considered a pioneer of the field. Dale is oftentimes a guest speaker and contributor to the CSN seminars and scholarship.
Vibo's work with the Cute Studies Network is predominantly art related. Vibo’s art serves as a physical manifestation of narrative medicine by pulping her war poems—the 'ashes' of war poetry—into several paper-mâchée objects: (a nest with an egg and a dinosaur creature). In this way, Vibo upcycles war wounds by using scorched fragments of her own experiences at war to transform her narrative into an egg and dinosaur figure named "Cutiesaurus". Using these materials she demonstrates the metabolic process of recovery as the pieces challenge viewers to observe conflict not as a fixed scar, but as a generative medium that can be reshaped into a symbol of potential and life. These ash poems are a literal "destruction and rebirth" that is the hallmark of dadaism. In the context of the "Aww-Struck" exhibition, this technique creates a jarring tension. Especially while alongside Vibo's earlier work, the Japanese influences of kintsugi and Kawaii are evidenced. While the surface is "cute" the overall "DNA" of the object is made from ominous and burned memories. Vibo's process reflects an avant-garde idea that poetry is a physical artifact of lived experience. In this way, the objects exist as "visual survivors". The Poetry Egg serves as a perfect metaphor: a fragile shell protecting a history that has literally been torn apart and transformed through fire. Through Vibo's use of the text as a resistive tool to process war trauma, her objects elicit aggressive protective instincts to serve as a Dadaist mode of rebellion against traditional "high art". While the dinosaur evokes a scale of extinction and violence known only to the combat veteran, the egg is a universal symbol of vulnerability shared by all humans. Vibo uses the 'Dinosaur Egg' to house a perceived silence of war, offering civilians a tangible vessel to hold the weight of a history they did not witness, creating a sacred space for empathy.
Maggs Vibo’s Aww-Struck contribution transforms the 'ash' of war poetry into an artifact of survival. By nesting the prehistoric scale of the dinosaur within the fragile geometry of an egg, she asks: what survives the extinction of war, and what is born from its wreckage?"
Vibo's work with the Cute Studies Network is predominantly art related. Vibo’s art serves as a physical manifestation of narrative medicine by pulping her war poems—the 'ashes' of war poetry—into several paper-mâchée objects: (a nest with an egg and a dinosaur creature). In this way, Vibo upcycles war wounds by using scorched fragments of her own experiences at war to transform her narrative into an egg and dinosaur figure named "Cutiesaurus". Using these materials she demonstrates the metabolic process of recovery as the pieces challenge viewers to observe conflict not as a fixed scar, but as a generative medium that can be reshaped into a symbol of potential and life. These ash poems are a literal "destruction and rebirth" that is the hallmark of dadaism. In the context of the "Aww-Struck" exhibition, this technique creates a jarring tension. Especially while alongside Vibo's earlier work, the Japanese influences of kintsugi and Kawaii are evidenced. While the surface is "cute" the overall "DNA" of the object is made from ominous and burned memories. Vibo's process reflects an avant-garde idea that poetry is a physical artifact of lived experience. In this way, the objects exist as "visual survivors". The Poetry Egg serves as a perfect metaphor: a fragile shell protecting a history that has literally been torn apart and transformed through fire. Through Vibo's use of the text as a resistive tool to process war trauma, her objects elicit aggressive protective instincts to serve as a Dadaist mode of rebellion against traditional "high art". While the dinosaur evokes a scale of extinction and violence known only to the combat veteran, the egg is a universal symbol of vulnerability shared by all humans. Vibo uses the 'Dinosaur Egg' to house a perceived silence of war, offering civilians a tangible vessel to hold the weight of a history they did not witness, creating a sacred space for empathy.
Maggs Vibo’s Aww-Struck contribution transforms the 'ash' of war poetry into an artifact of survival. By nesting the prehistoric scale of the dinosaur within the fragile geometry of an egg, she asks: what survives the extinction of war, and what is born from its wreckage?"
- The ash process: This represents the alchemy of grief—taking something destroyed (ashes/fire) and turning it into something structural (paper-mâché).
- Deep time: Using a dinosaur places the veteran's experience in "Deep Time," suggesting that the impact of war is evolutionary and permanent, rather than just a temporary event.
PRESS
Royal Holloway hyperlink: ‘AWW-STRUCK’ seminar attracts international leaders in Cute Studies
Aww-Struck Network: Aww-Struck Network – Creative and critical approaches to cuteness
Facebook press permanent hyperlink: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalHollowayPoetics/posts/a-new-website-has-been-launched-for-aww-struck-the-network-of-researchers-artist/1304932375007698/
Aww-Struck Network: Aww-Struck Network – Creative and critical approaches to cuteness
Facebook press permanent hyperlink: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalHollowayPoetics/posts/a-new-website-has-been-launched-for-aww-struck-the-network-of-researchers-artist/1304932375007698/
